Candles and Flame
by stelianqueen
Summary: Thuan Vong- just a short, cowardly 13-year-old student at Coates Academy who apparently killed a woman. And then there's that mind-raping... thing that says its the Darkness, and those giant bugs. Maybe he dies. Or maybe he doesn't. No one cares, anyway.
1. Chapter 1

The note slowly fluttered onto his desk- delicately, like the butterflies Mai used to be so obsessed with, that she would lay outside in their tiny yard and wait until she saw one, and then she'd talk to them in a smooth, gentle voice: "Hello, butterfly- how are you today?" "Hello, Mr. Butterfly- or are you Mrs. Butterfly? Er, butterfly- do you ever get tired from flying so much?" "Hello, butterfly- don't you love being free to fly. My, I'd love that so much..."

Either that, or that poerty analysis class was _really _getting to him.

Small fingers trembling, he slowly unfolded the note- it wasn't like he was expecting there to be a bomb in there or something, but he couldn't help that habit of doing everything that way- slowly, carefully. Even the simplest things. People noticed it, too.

_"Is there something wrong with him? A nervous disorder? Sir, are you sure- someone his age shouldn't be that way... do you have any ideas? Sir?"_

Sprawled across a torn paper- the back of an assignment, probably- he saw it. He squinted and read it again. He vlosed his eyes and took a deep breath, then read it again.

_Library. Tomorrow night. I know why you're here- dead stepmother, scared her off with some light display and she fell down two flights of steps and died. Show up._

_ -C_

The minute he realized that, _yes_, the note was real, he stared. Simply stared.

Even Mai, his sister, didn't know what had happened that night. He didn't even rememember all of it himself- another fight, huddling in a closet because he was too afraid to go out, shouting, something breaking, _light_, the door breaking- people screaming, a muffled thud, curling up to protect himself as a man over him yelled and screamed and wept of all things-

And then he and his sister being shipped out instantly.

Right then and there, Thuan Vong, who knew he wasn't breave, who never tried to fool anyone into thinking that, who apparently killed his stepmother, who was small enough to pass as a nine year old when he was four years older than that, knew that he had to do what had been said.

Because how could anyone know, if he didn't himself?


	2. Chapter 2

It's dark, which is something that has never bothered Thuan- no, dark was good, dark was dark, dark was safe, dark was good- and he knows he shouldn't be doing this, he shouldn't, he doesn't want to get seen again, doesn't want that weird memory-loss, time-lapse thing to happen again.

But still.

Door locked, single window covered with that overly fluffy brown sheet that was always there when it was sunny, nothing even remotely flammable nearby, even though it's not fire, at least he hopes not. He stands in a corner, back against one wall, leaning slightly. Hands outstretched, fingers spread, thumbs touching.

He has to try it. One more time.

He doesn't expect anything to happen before the light comes out.

Thuan doesn't think there's anything happening. He should. He knows that.

And nothing does.

And he's relieved for a moment.

And then there's a quick, bright flash of a sickly greenish light that causes him to instantly slam his hands against the wall before it goes out. Even when he raises his hands and he knows its gone, he can see a slight trace of that light.

Which is nothing compared to what happens next.

It's so sudden, he doesn't even react, doesn't even think.

One second, thick darkness.

Next, little ball of light hovering over his open palm.

Thuan stares. He doesn't know what else to do. It sits there, and he hears a faint hum, and there are little rippling shapes inside it, like it's hollow and there's water splashing around the inside. It's not the sickly green light; it's yellow, pure yellow, and lights up most of the room. He moves his hand, wanting to smash his hand against the wall again, like with the other light, but it's like he's frozen there. His arm moves stiffly, slowly, as if trying to preserve the little ball there.

He doesn't know what to do. He honestly doesn't.

His fingers curl into a fist, what he always does when he thinks, and the minute his fingers touch his palm the light vanishes, as does the stiffness, the humming.

He opens his fist.

Light.

Closes.

Darkness.

Opens.

Light.

Closes.

Darkness.

Thuan stares. He knows he does that too much, but he can't help it. His mind is reeling. Why? And what was that light?

Answerless, he collapses onto his bed, curls his knees up, and cries to himself.

* * *

><p>"How do you know?" he demanded- not even remotely like a question, a command- when he saw the dark haired boy in the library. Seconds after, he knew what he'd done wrong. But it was too late.<p>

Thuan swore he saw at least a hint of a smile on the boy's face. "Your sister. Ask a question, and she breaks." He knew that was true. Always had been. Mai couldn't keep a secret.

"Why did you ask her, though?"

"It's not exactly a secret why you're here. Oh, no one knows the details, of course- but the dead stepmother part is common knowledge. So I aksed your sister, and she broke down. Told me not to tell anyone. I didn't."

"You know about the light, then."

Then there was a smile, or, at least, a grin. "I do. And let me say something: there are other people like you, you know. Eleven, so far."

"Like me?" He was sick of asking questions. He always hated whenever he did that, one of the amny things hew always did. But the boy showed no signs of annoyance.

"Able to do... things. There's a girl who run way too fast. Another girl can teleport across a room. And there are others, too," the boy said. Thuan didn't really want to know what the "others" were, but for some reason, he was fascinated. He knew he shouldn't be believing the boy- it was probably just attention-seeking nonsense, but he couldn't help it.

"Are you... um... are you one of those people?" It had been bugging him since they had started talking, and he couldn't stop himself from asking it.

The boy didn't answer. Instead, he held out his hands towards a bookshelf. Two book slid off the shelf as if someone had grabbed them, rose in the air, and then went into place perfectly.

Thuan didn't know what to say.

He really didn't.

"If that didn't answer it, then yes- I am."

Thuan slowly nodded.

"Do it. Your light thing. I want to see."

His mouth was dry. "I can't. I don't even remember what happened last time."

"Try. Hold out your hands- powers seem to come from there, I don't know why- and just... try."

"What if someone sees?"

The boy laughed, quietly. "No one will. And if they do, they'll think a light blew or something. Just try."

Thuan shifted. Focused. He really didn't know what to do- imagine that blinding light that was ever present in his memory? How was he supposed to know this stuff? So he just cleared his mind and sort of... stood there.

There was a flash. He knew that.

And then he staggered backwards. Fell. The boy was gone. The analog clock on the wall read 8:39.

He'd gotten there at 7:43.

There was no way that much time had passed.

Thuan pulled himself upright. He'd done the light thing again.

And he didn't remember.

Again.

How wonderful.


	3. Chapter 3

Class is boring. It always is, he notices- teachers who are stuck there because they can't find a job, education systems rendered by people who have nothing to do with their lives, students who, for the most part, are more interested in microwaving puppies than actually learning anything.

Thuan just can't focus.

He doesn't know why- he used to be incredibly focused. Mai used to make a game with herself of trying to distract him. Deep down, he knows, or at least has a very strong suspicion, that that light... thing is what is causing it. He can't be sure, though- he definitely isn't going out of his way to find that boy again- not like he looked before- and he doesn't know who the other... mutants, he thinks, are. It's not like he can walk up to someone and ask, "Hey, can you run really fast? I mean, like superhumanly fast?" "Oh, and can you dispel gravity?" "Hey, have you been able to do something weird lately?"

Then he'd just get shipped off... wherever, really. He was already at Coates; there wasn't anywhere else he could go unless they picked out a mental hospital or something. _"Oh, sir, yes, just choose one of these... they're very nice places, we'll find a treatment. Yes, I guarantee, sir." _

That's how they always talked. Or, at least, the dozens of therapists he'd had to see. _"Sir, there's nothing wrong with him that we can see- a little quiet, but that could be because of... you know, what happened, nothing major. You must have been stressed, sir, and hallucinated. It's very common. Many others have."_

Always in a falsely positive voice, saying "sir" as much as possible, trying to avoid words like "death" around him, even though he was right there and they knew he'd seen her die and he wasn't a baby, he was nine, he could understand. That she died, at least. Not how.

He's anxious, he can tell. He can't sit still, his fingers want to move, but he has to keep his fist tight because he can't let that light come out, can't risk it. He wants to, wants to try it again, but he won't, and he won't let himself.

When the class ends, he forces himself up stiffly and walks quickly to the door. Before Thuan reaches it, though, Diana, a beautiful girl he'd barely ever noticed, tripped on something and fell to the ground in an awkward position. "Hey, Thuan, could you help me up, please? Might've busted my ankle. Possibly," she asks in a clear voice.

He turns sideways and holds out his hands. She holds it for a second, and then he helps her stand. Only after he lets go does he realize that she held his hand for way too long. He looks to the side and asks, "You okay?"

"I think so. Sorry for the drama."

Thuan gives a slight smile. "It's okay." He starts down the hallway, when he hears Diana's voice whispering behind him.

"... he's a three bar, Caine. Three."

He's not even thinking about what that meant. It could be some video game thing. Or a joke. Or whatever. And then he hears Canine's voice.

"That's the fourth one. They're awfully powerful, aren't they?"

Thuan turns around. He knows that voice.

He sees the dark eyes and a predatory grin on the boy he saw before. The one with the powers.

"Why'd you do it, Mai?"

Her eyes seem to be filling with tears, though Thuan knows that can't be right. Mai never cries. She's not a coward. He is.

"I'm sorry, Thuan. He was threatening me, and I was afraid, and you know I can't keep a secret. Besides, he knew..."

"Knew about what?"

Now there are tears in her black eyes. "He knew about what I can do. I don't know how he figured it out. I didn't even know myself. And then, I broke, and... I'm sorry, really. Believe me."

A sudden anger burns through his veins. He doesn't know what Mai can do. She never told him. "What can you do, then? That Caine knew about?"

Her eyelids flutter shut for a second, and she mouths something to herself. Mai smoothes back her hair, calmer. Her eyes open again. She sighs and says, "I don't know where it came from. Or how it came on. I didn't even know it existed." Her voice is calm, but Thuan can tell from the way her dark eyes seem to glaze over that she's terrified. She won't admit it.

It's times like those where he truly realizes how much his sister has matured in the last few years. It's not like she's been exposed to anything to change her- it seemed that, simply, her years were finally catching up to her. Where was the little girl who would speak to butterflies? Who would sit on the rooftop and sing to the stars on clear nights? Who was terrified of the darkness when shapes seemed to mold together to make the shadows of monsters?

Mai had toughened up. She was eleven, but even Thuan couldn't remember her age sometimes. She acted more like she was fourteen on her most immature days.

"What can you do, Mai? Just tell me."

Mai takes in a breath and then abruptly lets it go. "It's better if I showed you." Her eyes close again, and her body goes entirely still, as if she's focusing her entire being. But minutes pass, and nothing happens. Her eyes open, and she stares at him, embarrassed. "Sorry, sorry, I mean, it usually works-"

"Try using your hands. Raise them palms out towards me."

"How would you- okay... I'll try..."

The effect is immediate this time, even if he doesn't realize it. He sees blackness for a second, and then he's slumped against the wall. Thuan looks up at Mai's eyes, which have an odd gleam to them. "That's what I can do," she says in a meek voice. "That."

"What exactly did you do?" he asks while he stands up. He can't believe it. Mai's... one of them. Him, Cain, Mai, and others.

"I made you fall asleep. I made sure you woke up quickly, though that's harder." She pauses. "It doesn't normally last long. At least, I don't think so..."  
>"Mai," Thuan says suddenly, cutting his sister off. "When you first used that, did you... sort of... blank, I guess, afterwards?"<p>

"Blank?"

"Like..." he starts, and then he knows, "Never mind. If you don't know, then you haven't experienced it."

"Experienced _what_?" she snaps.

"I don't know what it is. The last two times I've done that light... thing I've been blank afterwards. I can't remember it." He looked over at the clock. "I really should go. I have an essay due soon..." It's a lie, but he just really has to get out of there. He knows that. Go... somewhere.

He's in the hallway with Mai screaming behind him, when Nurse Temple walks by him. "Oh, Thuan. There you are. Your father wants-"

She's gone.


End file.
